MINDEMOYA—Opening up her own law office in Mindemoya as part of her return to Manitoulin Island is something that Janelle Proulx had planned all along.
“Even while I’ve been away from the Island, at school or working, I’ve always planned on returning to Manitoulin,” stated Janelle Proulx, barrister and solicitor, who opened Proulx Law Office in Mindemoya on Monday. “I’ve always come back in the summer, even when I lived elsewhere.”
Proulx Law Office is located in the Old School Building in Mindemoya (between the Mindemoya arena and the local ball field). “I’ve been back since shortly before the holidays and opened the office today (Monday),” Ms. Proulx told the Recorder.
After attending elementary school at Central Manitoulin Public School, Ms. Proulx attended and graduated from Manitoulin Secondary School (MSS) in M’Chigeeng. “From there I took the criminal justice program at Nipissing University, and after graduating there, attended the University of Ottawa Law School three-year program, which I graduated from in the spring of 2014.”
“Then I moved to Sudbury to work and went for my bar exams in 2014 and passed those, thank goodness,” quipped Ms. Proulx. The bar examination, put on by the Law Society of Upper Canada, is a test intended to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction. “I started articling, which basically means doing a placement with a practicing lawyer of at least 10 years. I started in Sudbury at the Conroy Munro law office in Sudbury. Nicola Munro was my mentor-boss and I articled with her in the summer of 2013. I worked for her for 10 months and once the articling is complete you have to wait to get called to the bar. In June (2015) I was called to the bar examinations.”
“I continued working in the Sudbury office until recently, as an associate lawyer,” said Ms. Proulx. “I always wanted to return home to the Island.”
Ms. Proulx explained, “when I was attending school at MSS I remember the mock trials competition in 2007, which was my first introduction to law. This was a new team for the school and six of us (students) decided to take part. It was so exciting. We qualified to go to the provincials and the whole experience opened my eyes to pursuing a career in law.”
“The experience sparked my interest in law, I stuck with it and knew this was the career I wanted to get into,” said Ms. Proulx.
Ms. Proulx will be practicing in family law, such as legal aid, child custody support, wills and real estate.
“My main office is going to be here in Mindemoya and I’ve been fortunate to get a great location here, my plan is also to have a satellite office set up in Gore Bay as well,” continued Ms. Proulx. “I will be doing legal aid hours at the court house in Gore Bay, so it makes sense to set up an office in Gore Bay as well, probably one day a week.”
“For the first while, I will be the only person working at the Mindemoya office, but eventually I’m going to need an assistant,” said Ms. Proulx. The office will be open Monday to Fridays from 9 am to 5 pm. However, “I will also be available to do evening and special appointments with clients. For example, those visits could include meeting with seniors who are doing their wills. I did that type of work in Sudbury and I am glad to do that on the Island as well.”
“I am having a grand opening on Friday, January 15, basically a meet and greet at my office in Mindemoya from 4 to 6 pm. I hope people will come out and check out the office and find out the services we will be providing,” she added.
Proulx Law Office Professional Corporation is located in the Old School building, 6062 Highway 542, PO Box 387, Mindemoya. Telephone (705) 377-4533 and fax (705) 377-4496 or by email janelle@proulxlawoffice.com.
